Orangutans Go Ape Over Their New iPads

by Nate Wooley | January 24, 2013 10:18 am

[1]At the great ape house in Washington, D.C., the orangutans are getting into their Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[2]) iPads.

Zookeepers at the Smithsonian National Zoo are giving the orangutans the tablets to engage the apes minds, Fox News reports[3]. The apes have access to 10 apps right now, and some of them are already showing preferences. According to the zookeepers, three of the apes are fond of using the devices to play drums, piano and to watch an animated fishtank.

The iPads are supplied to the Smithsonian and 12 other zoos by Apps for Apes, a project of Orangutan Outreach, a group dedicated to conservation and protection of the Orangutan species. Zoos that have received the tablets include Houston, Atlanta, Toronto and Milwaukee, among others.

Richard Zimmerman, of Orangutan Outreach, said in a statement, “Primarily, we want the Apps for Apes program to help people understand why we need to protect wild orangutans from extinction. We do that when we show zoo visitors how similar humans and apes are, be it through observation, talking with wildlife experts or seeing the apes use the same technology we use every day.”